LAVO
Part of the Tao Group, the arrival of LAVO marks the brand’s London debut and joins its already impressive number of fabulous Italian-style restaurants around the world. Located at the BoTree, it offers an atmospheric environment in which to enjoy your meal. The menu includes dishes such as tagliatelle al limone infused with marjoram, sweet butter and Kaluga caviar, whole-grain, single-source flour pizzas and a showstopper Wagyu meatball.
Where: 30 Marylebone Lane, Mayfair, W1U 2DR
Bookings: taogroup.com
EVE
Calling EVE a restaurant doesn’t quite do it justice. From 7am to 4pm it’s a lovely café serving pastries, cakes and freshly made sandwiches before converting to a rich south Mediterranean restaurant in the afternoons and a slick bar in the evening. The Mediterranean atmosphere is fully realised in the dinner menu that includes Za’atar fried chicken, herb falafel and charred mushroom skewers grilled to order on the plancha, Zhoug stonebass and ras el hanout lamb belly.
Where: 202-220 Cromwell Road, Kensington, SW5 0SW
Bookings: evekensington.com
Sushi by Masa at Harrods
Back in June we themed this Restaurant & Bar section around the “Most Expensive Fine Dining Experiences Across the World” and one of the restaurants we included was Masa in New York by Masayoshi Takayama, one of the world’s most famous sushi chefs. Well, it turns out you don’t need to travel to New York after all because he’s coming to London to launch Sushi by Masa in the Harrods dining hall. The menu, naturally, centres around omakase, a Japanese concept where the chef is in full control of choosing the food placed in front of you.
Where: 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7XL
Bookings: harrods.com
Geode
Geode, just like the rock it’s named after, is all about hidden treasures and gorgeous design. That’s why they bring a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian cuisine to the table to surprise your taste buds. This is a menu where “beef tartare on a bone marrow landscape” sits next to “King crab gunkan”, reaching all the way from the Med to Japan. The interior décor is inspired by a geode as well with a terracotta and lavender theme showcasing the earth and gemstones.
Where: 14-15 Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, SW3 1NQ
Bookings: geode.london
London Stock
London Stock is upping roots and moving location from Wandsworth to the centre of Mayfair, taking over the site that used to be Amethyst (a restaurant we covered the opening of with a crazy central table that has since closed when its chef moved on). London Stock is a tasting menu specialist with an 8-course seasonal menu with dishes such as glazed rabbit leg and barbeque beef fillet. With prices at less than £100 per person, it’s one of the less bank-breaking Mayfair tasting menus out there.
Where: 6 Sackville Street, Mayfair, W1S 3DD
Bookings: londonstockrestaurant.co.uk
Raffles London at the OWO
I was tempted to make this entire article about the following opening but that would feel a little bit like cheating because when Raffles opens its first-ever hotel in London at The OWO (Old War Office), it’s opening nine new restaurants and bars too. There’s Café Lapérouse, Langosteria, Paper Moon, Mauro Colagreco, Mauro’s Table, Saison (pictured), Creative Restaurant, The Drawing Room, The Guards Bar and The Spy Bar. There’s a wide range of cuisine across them all, from Paris to Italy to a speakeasy type bar in an old MI5 bureau. The John Le Carré vibes are immaculate.
Where: 57 Whitehall, Whitehall, SW1A 2BX
Bookings: theowo.london
Daroco
The incredibly trendy Parisian restaurant Daroco is set for its debut in London, coming to a location in Soho that at the time of writing is undisclosed. While Daroco may be French, the menu is Italian with baroque pizzas and fresh pasta. The setting is vibrant and colourful, inspired by the iconic artistic movements following the renaissance. The centrepiece to the restaurant will be its ginormous mirrored ceiling.
Where: Manette Street, Soho, London W1D 4AL
Bookings: daroco.com
Oracle Time